The Election in China

One week after the election in the US, China also went through an official transition of power at party’s gathering on Nov 15. There are amazing contrasts between these two power transitions.

I reflected my own experience in casting my first vote in the US presidential election. It is an empowering experience for participating. I voted for my belief of how our society should look and where the country should go. The president elected represents what we wanted collectively. Looking back in the history of civilization, the modern democracy in the US is a miracle and represents the pinnacle of what we believe in for a good society --- respect of individual right and representative of collective interests.

The election of Xi (pronounces SHE) Jinping is also a miracle of a power transferring process. Power can be transferred peacefully in China within families or dynasties in the past 2000 years. Every power transfers between dynasties, however, are marred by violence. The communist party in China has now transferred power four times (Man Zedong - Deng Xiaoping - Jiang Zhemin - Hu Jingtao - Xi Jinping) without major hiccups. This is not a miracle of chance or a simple success of a totalitarian state. The communist party today in China is no longer an entity hold just by its ideology. It has fully integrated meritocracy that is deep in Chinese tradition. Over the past 2000 years in China, the selection (not election) of government officials are based on nation-wide exams!!! Just yesterday, there were 1.15 million people took part in the latest national examine to be qualified for a government job.  The Chinese government is full of technocrats. Xi has served as county officials, mayors, governors, and key central government positions in the past 30 years. The new premier, Li Keqiang, has a PhD in economics. There is a deeply rooted tradition for the elite to lead the society in China.

In the US election, people vote on trust rather than qualification of the candidates. On the last day of the election, Obama’s message was that Romney was for the rich, and can not be trusted for the middle class. The lack of focus on qualification produced presidents like George W. Bush. Obama’s lack of accomplishment in the first term, obstructions from the Republican aside, also reflected his lack of experience in moving forward when he could not get people behind his vision. I was intrigued by Romney’s leadership qualities in what he has done in his career. At the end, I voted on my belief, rather than the candidates themselves.   

Obama became a US president through his journey of finding justice and hope for common people. He ran a campaign that was rooted in getting everyone support his vision to vote. Xi came to power after being vetted for his qualification to govern and serve party’s interests. He has the trust from the party, and to the less extent, from the Chinese people, of his ability to maintain a stable society. I think Obama will be fine for the next 4 years. It is hard to predict for Xi, I wish him well.